The Relationship between the Socio-Economic Status and Students’ Speaking Anxiety: A Study of Saudi EFL Students

Abstract

Speaking is a complex production process involving several socio-psycho-cognitive factors and studying how these factors impact students' performance in English-speaking courses might lead to recommendations to enhance their speaking ability. Therefore, the objectives of the study are to examine the level of Saudi EFL learners’ speaking anxiety and to investigate the relationship between speaking anxiety and the socio-economic status of Saudi Arabian students. Multiple regression was used to analyze the data in a quantitative research design to achieve those objectives. A questionnaire was used as the main tool for gathering data from 118 students at Betterjee Medical College in Jeddah. The results revealed that most Saudi EFL students experience a common problem of speaking anxiety in their English language classes. Another striking finding that has been found in this study was the significant and negative relationship between speaking and the student's socio-economic status which means that socio-economic status could be a crucial factor in speaking anxiety. The study’s findings have some implications for EFL practitioners who work with and facilitate EFL students’ efforts to overcome speaking anxiety particularly in a setting where the students are from varied socio-economic backgrounds.